Game Time: 7:30 PM  ET, Sunday, February 20th, 2022

Venue: The Galen Center, Los Angeles, California

Where to Watch:  FS1

 

DraftKings Sportsbook:  USC -7.5; O/U 132.5

Caesars:  Spread: USC -7; O/U 132.5

VegasInsider:  Spread: USC -7; O/U 132.5

WynnBet: Spread: USC -7; O/U 132.5

Cougars: 7-7 in the Pac-12, 14-11 overall

Trojans: 11-4 in the Pac-12, 22-4 overall

A Pac-12 matchup that will provide just enough of a great betting opportunity to clear up any mistakes you made on the morning slate.  This time of year conference play gets a little predictable in college basketball.   The winners have made themselves very apparent… The losers have too.  The USC Trojans are a fantastic basketball team.  The Trojans are looking ahead to a tournament invite and a strong postseason run… as the brother of the NBA’s ROY is making a case for his own late 1st round selection soon.  Washington State is looking forward to the recruiting path.  Hopefully some booster can kick in for NIL deals… if not, the Cougars may spend the next decade wishing they could compete in the Pac-12 which will clearly be dominated by USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Arizona in the years ahead.  The one darkhorse in the Pac-12 (as it pertains to NIL money) is Stanford… a school that has produced a bushel of billionaires really only needs one big one to commit to the basketball program to land some top recruits.  As this game goes however…. USC has already won it…. We just need to go over the numbers to see if they can cover the spread (not always an easy thing to do).

The Washington State Cougars have only won 5 of their last 10 games.  They have taken beatings from UCLA, Oregon, ASU, Arizona, and Stanford.  Basically anyone ahead of Washington State in the Pac-12 rankings handed them a loss.  Not very competitive losses either as the Cougars are 4-6 ATS over the last ten.  They lose games and get beaten on the spread.  To be fair the Cougars have 3 injured players and 1 Redshirt cheering from the bench.  Leading scorer point guard Michael Flowers doesn’t pack a wallop in any statistical category… he is 13.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, and 3.00 apg.  Those are great numbers for any college team’s #3 option… to get them from your leading scorer is debilitating.  The team does have a fun point of interest in backup 6’6 forward DJ Rodman.  Yes, he is the son of NBA legend Dennis Rodman.  More importantly, he is the brother of the best young female soccer player in America, Trinity Rodman… the youngest player ever drafted in NWSL history.  Dennis does not play a big role in his children’s lives, but the kids are flourishing on their own.  The clear problem with DJ Rodman and with starting shooting guard Noah Williams is they are playing out of position.  DJ Rodman should be working as a defensive shooting guard instead of an undersized forward and Noah Williams should be playing at the point.  A team that lacks the scoring punch like Washington State but has the bodies to play a big defensive lineup… should do so!  When a 6’1 point guard leads the team in scoring at only 13 ppg… you gotta try something different.  

The USC Trojans have won 8 of their last ten games.  The two losses were to the Arizona Wildcats and the Stanford Cardinal.  They are 5-5 ATS during that stretch.  Leading scorer and rebounder Isaiah Mobley is a force down low.  He is that rare mix of enough talent with a full college experience under his belt.  USC needs this game and won’t for a second take it lightly.  The final three games of their season will be (in order) the  Oregon Ducks, the Arizona Wildcats, and the UCLA Bruins.  USC is a squad that is either being led to slaughter or will end up standing on the podium getting gold hung on their necks.  They won’t dare go easy now.

SCORCHING-HOT! Al McMordie cashed AGAIN last night with the Hurricanes, and that followed up Big Al's HUGE PAC-12 GAME OF THE YEAR WINNER on Oregon State +24.5 over Arizona. If you enjoyed that WIRE-TO-WIRE WINNER, then don't miss Big Al's Atlantic Sun Game of the Year. It will be another rocking chair winner!  Get Big Al’s pick!!  It's available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. All your NCAA basketball needs for the entire college basketball season!  All your needs in any sport for that matter! 

WSU is 14-11 on the season, but 11-14 ATS.  They have logged 8 Overs, 16 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 5-3 in road games.

USC is 22-4 on the season, but 13-13 ATS.  They have notched 12 Overs and 14 Unders.  They are 12-2 in home games.

Washington State is 192nd in scoring with 70.6 ppg, 82nd in rebounds with 34 per game, and 278th in AST/TO ratio with 0.9.  Defense is where they hang their hat.  They are 32nd while holding opponents to 63 ppg.

USC is 121st in scoring with 73.3 ppg, 7th in rebounds with 37.8 per game, and 37th in AST/TO with 1.3.  They are pretty great on defense as well where they rank 42nd while allowing 63.8 ppg from opponents. 

Our prediction for Sunday, February 20th is…  USC 72 - WSU 66

USC will win this one.  USC is a better team and at full health.  Pay close attention to the spread as the line may move from publish time to game time.  You want to remember that last time these two teams played the final score was USC 63 - WSU 61 and the spread was only 1 pt giving USC a win ATS (barely).   This time the spread will be larger in USC’s favor… but by how much?

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USC is 18-5 ATS versus good defensive teams over the last 3 seasons.
USC is 26-18 ATS versus Washington State since 1997.
USC is 4-1 ATS versus Washington State the last 3 seasons.

WSU:  G J. Koulibaly (undisclosed) Out ** C D. Jackson (eye) Out ** F T. Miller (shoulder) Out

USC: No injuries to report

WSU: Efe Abogidi, Tyrell Roberts, Michael Flowers, Noah Williams, Mouhamed Gueye

USC:  Boogie Ellis, Chevez Goodwin, Isaiah Mobley, Drew Peterson, Max Agbonkpolo

WSU

Points: Michael Flowers 13.4

Assists: Michael Flowers 3.0

Rebounds: Efe Abogidi 5.7

Steals: Noah Williams 1.1

Blocks: Efe Abogidi 1.6

USC

Points: Isaiah Mobley 14.6

Assists: Drew Peterson 3.4

Rebounds: Isaiah Mobley 8.3

Steals: Boogie Ellis 1.0

Blocks: Joshua Morgan 1.0

WSU: Kyle Smith

USC: Andy Enfield